Into Darkness (Firemane)

[Laira Darkhold]

A little forlorn, Laira left Elpsis to go find her own quarters winding her way through the labyrinthine passages of the Scarlet Destiny to get back to the common area that Firemane had given to the Resistance Cell accompanying them. When she entered most of them were still awake, sitting in the circular chamber, though Captain Ul, Probabat Shun, and Ur'dax were missing from the motley assortment of rebels. "Hey guys," she said waving her hand at the Death Troopers and former Galactic Alliance Guards that made up the two teams in the group's assault section.

"Hey, did you find out anything new?" Leo, she liked him, asked with interest sparking across his features.

"Oh, yeah. There is a fairly powerful Sith Cult on the planet that worship Darth Vader, and a sect of Yuuzhan Vong led rebels fighting against the Dominion. That symbol was some kind of Vader-esque marking." Her voice was tired, and the redhead was more than a little disappointed. Leo had stood and walked over to her, rubbing her shoulders. That was probably why he was her favorite. All the others were the stereotypical machismo which she had grew up around. So bland as far as personality even if they didn't make bad friends. Leo was a little softer, a little more emotional. She let out a small sigh and let him push her towards one of the couches where she could sit down and he could keep massaging her while she talked.

"Sounds like the current plan is to, oh, just a little lower sweetie, is to, yeah, thank you. Is to meet with the Dominion forces and try to get an ally. Oh." She managed under some duress as Leo's hands pressed into the muscles of her back.

"They do know we laid waste to one of their bases right?" Stalgis asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, as far as I know they do, but given what Mara said about them, I don't think they are all that worried about a handful of clones being killed when the gain is allies with Hyperspace tech." Most of the Death Troopers nodded in acknowledgement, they'd worked for a government that used clones. Normally, the higher ups didn't worry so much about how many clones died and given their former allegiance, the high ups were very flexible on their doctrines when it benefited them.

The conversation continued, mostly just stories and banter until Laira and Leo ended up making out on the couch. That drove most of the others out of the room, with Geva departing with her own intentions and someone in tow. It wasn't much longer that Laira retired to her own bedroom, alone, though Leo had gotten to second base in the process. The redhead made a note to introduce him to Elpsis, even if it would feel weird she had the desire to get Elpsis's approval before she got serious with anyone.

~

When her alarm buzzed she groaned, rolling over to slap the chrono angrily. Less than a minute later there was a knock on her door, "Laira, you need to report before the Captain comes in." It was Leo, looking out for her so she didn't get yelled at. Sleeping in was apparently a sign of misconduct in the military, something she would have to rectify if she ever made a command rank. At least Leo was sweet enough to notice those loud discussions hurt her feelings. The Jedi Princess swung out of bed and rose to her feet, quickly using her private sonic shower before dressing in her flight suit. Five minutes from passed out to fully dressed was awful but impressive.

It wasn't but a minute after she had reported, that Elpsis came to check on her. Laira sauntered out of line up to give Elpsis a hug. "Hiya honeybuns! How'd you sleep?"

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]
[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Laira Darkhold"] [member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

Tegaea eyed the Jedi coolly. She recognised that diplomats made grand gestures like this and often made puffed up announcements. It was not her, though, and especially not since the ‘Dominion of Light’ could be pretty much deleted by her from space and they’d be able to do precisely zero in return.

Still, she nodded her head fractionally.
“Master Airla, I am pleased the High Council has come to this decision. We would be happy to send down a small party to discuss with you. A shuttle will be dispatched within two planetary hours, arriving at the midday of your capital.”

“This party will be armed, but we are not seeking conflict. We will defend ourselves if attacked however. This first discussion will be about building bridges, nothing concrete will be decided yet.”

“Certainly, Lady Alcori of Firemane. The Council, nay the whole Dominion eagerly awaits your ambassador’s arrival. May the living Force bless this day with the fruits of wisdom.”

Tegaea pursed her lips ever so slightly. “Yes, indeed. May the Force be with us all.” It never hurt to put in a light platitude of her own.

The connection died and Tegaea strode through the halls to the main conference room where Elpsis, Laira, senior officers and her diplomats were waiting. They had been watching the call.
“At ease,” she said when those inside came to attention. “We are dispatching a party to the surface to meet with this Dominion. I do not believe they are insane enough to try and betray us so early, but we must be prepared for that. Therefore, Captain Vyron, I want the shuttle to be shadowed by two gunships. If anything happens they are to move in and provide a perimeter, and to provide eyes and ears for the fleet.”
“Next, I want two members of our diplomatic corps to be included. Captain Warner, that’s your job. I want people who can keep their cool and be tactful. Captain Mirut, choose a squad of your best soldiers. Parade dress, make sure they’re steady and cool headed, I don’t want an incident here.”
Finally to Laira and Elpsis. “Laira, I want you in the air above the gunships with a wing of fighters just in case. Elpsis, you’ll be here ready to go in if needed. Any questions?”

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Laira Darkhold"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Given Elpsis' feelings on imperialists in general and the Death Troopers in particular, any meeting was bound to go poorly. She did not like people who were gung-ho about torture and virus bombings. It was good she had not been there when the Death Trooper leader suggested the latter. Otherwise things might have turned violent.


In any case, she ran into Laira and soon got a hug! Elpsis returned the hug, but kept the embrace brief. "Honeybuns?" she was not sure what to think of that nickname. Was it a reference to her butt? Admittedly it was a great one. "Slept ok," she said implausibly. She did not look she'd slept that much. "You?"

Her commlink beeped. "Officer Cadet Kerrigan-Alcori, report to command room," the voice on the other end spoke.

"So much for grabbing some pancakes at breakfast," she muttered. "Jedi zealots must have called. Come on," she spoke to Laira, tone serious. With the Ranger/Princess presumably in tow, she made her way to the conference room. Fortunately by now she knew her way around the ship well enough, so they arrived in time, allowing them to watch the call.


Well, as a matter of fact Elpsis could not watch the call. She could hear it though. Anyhow, Tegaea entered the room, there was saluting and she passed on her instructions. << Peril >> Was it the Force or something else whispering these words? The girl did not know for sure. She felt a strong feeling of fread either way. "I should be on the ground with the landing party," she blurted out.


"If anything goes wrong, if the Jedi betray us or Sithy arseholes or whatever shows up, you wanna make sure our people get out alive. And, well, I guess this sounds arrogant, but I am the strongest Forcer on the ship. I can't do anything from the Scarlet if things go to chit."


xxx


They met away from prying eyes, away from the spies of the Battlemaster. His reach was long, but the Inquisition had its ways. It was, after all, charged with protecting the purity of all citizens of the Dominion and to keep them safe from the temptations of the Dark Side. The Dark Side existed in the hearts of every man and woman. If left uncontrolled, it festered like a cancer.

That is why they had to be kept ignorant. An empty mind is a tidy mind. "Speak," the Grand Inquisitor, an old Twi'lek male ordered. He had only entered the room after his agents had swept it for bugs. He wore nondescript robes. A true Jedi did not lust for material possessions and riches.

"My Lord Inquisitor, may the Light strike me down if I speak false," the Duros Jedi, aide of Master Airla, spoke submissively. "I seek only the betterment of the Dominion and approach you on a matter of gravest concern to my conscience. I fear for the Dominion and our Grand Master, may he last ten thousand years."

The Grand Inquisitor showed no emotion. His face was a mask. "There are those who use his name in vain."

"Yes. It is my fear that heresy has taken root in some of those who have been charged with lightening his many burdens while he fights the Great Darkness. They would invite the viper into our garden."

"Are there men under these heretics who will take up arms for the Light?"

"Aye, there are many I can vouch for."

"Then spread word amongst them, but be discreet. Evil has many eyes. His Holiness sees all. When the time comes, we shall tear out the weeds in the garden."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Laira Darkhold"]


It did not take long. Siobhan sipped her wine and watched as her elite guards overpowered the Qadiri delegation and their minions. Some Qadiri died, others were cuffed and collared. Bullets and blaster bolts flew, blades flashed, fireballs and bolts of lightning were hurled. She found the wine to be exquisite.


"Would you like their ears, Great One?" Karrigan'Xalda asked seriously, having manhandled a Qadiri officer and forced him to the ground, holding a blade at his throat. Her Sith sword was stained red. More blood dripped down her cheek. Standing next to Siobhan, Maerys Medaea, head of her chancellery, looked aghast, disgust crossing her features.

"No. I believe those they betrayed would like to put them to justice themselves. Major Tenacity," she gestured to a Dahomian officer, "arrange for them to be sent back to Krolis under a flag of truce. Along with the head of Lady Sahali...and whatever is left of her body - find it. I want her followers to have the chance to perform a proper burial. Inform General Devotion to dispatch a force to secure Susa."

"Yes, ma'am," the officer clicked her heels.

"Maerys, compose a message to the League. Tell them I deplore the treacherous way these traitors struck down a heroine to the Qadiri people and that I return them so that justice may be served. Tell them the war is lost and if they lay down their arms and surrender to me, I shall be lenient and forge a just peace. And tell them that if they remain obstinate, I will annihilate them."

"As you wish, my Lady. Though Shahbânu Semiramis will be..."

"Her wants and desires will have to adjust, as any good vassal must. Many of her demands will be satisfied. Besides, I just got rid of a backstabber who would have caused her grief anyway," Siobhan said dismissively. Slowly she arose from her throne and departed, followed by two huge Kar'zun guards.

"The delegation came to you with a white flag and were willing to lay down their weapons, my Lady," Maerys spoke quietly to her liege. "If I may I would suggest that you chat with them before sending them away. To return them in chains to certain death is a bad precedent."

"To reward them for their treason would set an even worse one," Siobhan retorted. Her tone was calm, but unwavering. "The Sistren are brave and prestigious. If they bend the knee, it will be a powerful symbol. The Mirza was a coward. I do not want fairweather friends." Amidst the throng of aiguilletted adjutants, hangers-on, courtiers and bureaucrats, one of the aides got her attention after managing to catch up with her. "Yes, Hestia?"

"Uh, my Lady, pardon me but we just received a message from Lady Alcori via Enlightenment," the somewhat shy aide spoke, passing over a piece of flimsi.

"Leave us," Siobhan ordered, gesturing to the courtiers to leave. Taking the message in hand she read it, frowned. "Compose response immediately. Say 'don't trust Jedi. Don't get dragged into conflict without benefit to us. Does planet have resources? Resolving Krolis conflict.' And when you're done, send her a second message," then she leaned close and whispered some extremely inappropriate words into Hestia's ear, causing the attendant to blush.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Laira smiled, giving Elpsis a quick pinch of the backside before the comlinks started buzzing and away to the command chamber where they caught the back end of the holocomm from the Dominion of Light. A few moments afterwards they were assigning duties. "Yes ma'am. I'll get some folks in the air, stack up every thousand meters."

The redhead listened quietly while Elpsis placed herself with the diplomatic staff, which made sense. Everything the pyromancer was saying was right after all and the situation warranted some serious security. "Good luck babe, be safe for me."

It wasn't a moment later that she was excused to go do flight prep, pulling off her shirt and pants as quickly as possible to replace it with the skin-tight flight suit she had brought along. Nice, sleek, and stealth, fitted to pull attention to her feminine curves and worn with comfortable but fashionable knee high boots with just enough heel to make her legs look good. The pilot didn't like having to pull her hair into a tail, but that was the only way it fit up nice and neat into a helmet and still be easy to let loose. "Alright, we'll do one squadron flying with me, one flight per gunship open and shields up. Then I want two flights at five thousand meters flying quiet, and a flight every thousand meters after that." Changing in front of them might not have been the most professional thing, but when in a hurry.

After she had finished issuing the quick orders, Probabat Shun appeared alongside her, rather suddenly. "I would like to accompany you." The Givin seemed to word it like a request, but his tone suggested it was not. "I have felt something and would like to monitor the situation from nearby."

"Uh, alright. Just hop in the back seat and work the sensors for me, I guess." Laira responded, eyeing him with some suspicion. "Leo, ride backseat with Cix in the T-ninety five's."

Captain Ul looked on, letting Laira take as much lead as she was allowed and able. "Lieutenant, fly safe and godspeed."

"Thanks Kira. Don't miss me too much." With that Laira swung into the cockpit of her X-wing and settled in for some stressful moments. Just don't be the first to start shooting kept repeating in her head.

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]
[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

Tegaea paused in mid flow, slowing to a stop after a moment. Everyone was looking at her, but she was looking at Elpsis.
Conflicting emotions fought through her. There was a brief, but suppressed twinge of annoyance that her daughter was making this public statement against her authority.
Mainly though she was caught between concern and…pride? Elpsis was her daughter and someone she cared a lot about, and if anything happened to her she would be distraught. On the other hand she was proud that Elpsis was willing to step up and take the risks.
Elpsis was not boasting about her strength, Tegaea had seen her in action and could respect the power of the young woman. Power was no guarantee of immortality though, especially in a volatile situation.

In the end caution, both familial and practical, won the day. She shook her head.
“No, Elpsis. I need you here. Thank you though.”
She perhaps made a mistake here; she did not explain her reasons. That would not be becoming in front of the rest of the officers to explain her decision to a junior officer. The fact that Elpsis was her daughter confused matters, but did not change her decision.

She turned her gaze away to the other officers. “Let us begin.”

Swiftly the fighters were deploying and the delegation was gathering. Official first contact was about to be made….

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Laira Darkhold"]


"But I...yes, ma'am." The words were on Elpsis' tongue, but she swallowed them ere she could give voice to them. She clenched her fists, taking a calming breath. Even she had enough discipline not to lose it in front of the Firemane officer corps.

Yet she felt disappointed - and more than a little irritated. She did not need protecting. If things turned dire on the ground, she would be needed. Had she not proven herself many times over? She had held her own against the Dread Necromancer [member="Matsu Xiangu"], a Sith Lord who was Siobhan's equal, twice.


The briefing came to a close, and she slipped out of the conference room. Conveniently, a staff officer wanted Tegaea's attention on this or that. Elpsis' path took her back to her room. Shutting the door behind her, she quickly changed, with as much grace as was possible for someone who was blind. After slipping into her uniform, she grabbed her pistol and her lightsabre. Her firemane was still unruly, but that could not be helped.


Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the room, walked down the corridor as calmly as possible, then stepped into a turbolift, entering the hangar. It was abuzz with activity. Colonel Varkathras was doing her rounds. She perceived the aura of Captain Mirut aboard a shuttle. Swiftly crossing the distance, she stepped onto it.


"Hey, you, aren't you grounded, Alcori?" one of the soldiers, a tough looking Dahomian called Loyalty asked her when she noticed the young Firemane get aboard the transport ship. Or did the Boss let you out to play with the grunts?"

"Yeah, change of plans. Mother said I can come out and play if I behave myself," Elpsis responded smoothly, as the shuttle took off. There was just a little Force in her words. She felt about disobeying her Mother's orders and lying to her comrades, but if things went south...

Seemingly taking her words at face value, Loyalty slapped her on the shoulder. "Well, welcome aboard, girl. Between you and me, those Jedi give me the creeps. Weird nutters. Good to have someone along who can bring the pain."

"Yeah, hopefully I don't have to. 'Whatever happens, we have got the boltgun, and they have not',” she said, quoting a popular Firemane verse, causing the Dahomian to laugh.

"Alright, people, we're taking off," Captain Mirut spoke up. "Remember our task is the protection of our esteemed diplomats. Best behaviour. We're not here to shoot anyone unless the Burlap Brigade forces our hand. If they do, we protect our people and evac. If things go to chit because you could not keep your finger off the trigger, I'll have your arse."


After the Firemane ships left the bay of the Scarlet Destiny, the blue and green orb of Tephrike loomed large before them. On first sight the planet looked like a tropical paradise, but this was deceptive. A more thorough look would reveal radiation, contaminated waters and ruined cities. Their path would lead them towards Nexus City, the largest city on the planet. There, a welcoming committee awaited them in the city's only spaceport. Enormous monuments rose high into the sky. Undoubtedly the Firemane and Resistance members would notice the resemblance to landmarks on Coruscant. Or rather a poor attempt to build a new Coruscant - and fail at it.


As Laira and her squadron made their approach, they would notice that some Dominion starfighters were trying to shadow them. However, the Tephriki's attempt to follow them would be hampered by the fact that the glorious Dominion starfighter corps used hopelessly antiquated models. Diplomatic niceties would probably force poor Laira to slow down the speed of her craft. Sadly, the Dominion did not have any absurdly huge battlecruisers for her to phase through. Maybe next thread.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Shun, I need you all over those senors. Two, how do your scans look?" Laira asked over the unit comms. T-95's were built with a heavy sensor suite for reconnaissance and a power converter to boost passive scans range and effectiveness, which Laira was honestly glad for. Close range sensor data helped locate any chance the Dominion would turn hostile. It might give the fighters two or three extra seconds if turrets or air defenses powered up.

"These are fine, however the disturbance I felt has grown stronger. I am trying to determine what it is." The Givin responded, rather pleased with himself as he fine tuned the sensor algorithms during his meditation.

"Sensors clear one. No signs of secret aggression. Dolls are trying to match pace with us though." Cix responded over the comms once again.

"Alright, confirm headcounts and sound off. Stay alert just in case." There wasn't much else for them to do, and that was a good thing in the grand scheme of things. No one wanted their to be trouble during a diplomatic mission like this, but Laira couldn't shake the butterflies of nerves in her stomach. Something felt like it was going to happen.

They flew quiet, headcounts confirmed over the comms and confirmations of orders being confirmed through clicks with the redheaded Jedi ace flying first.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]
[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

On the bridge Tegaea had no apprehension that her daughter had ignored her commands. Instead she was fixated on the monitors and command screens as the shuttles started to descend.
“Alright, take it nice and slow. These people have not seen modern tech before, so let’s not startle them.”

She picked up her comm. “Laira, we’re beginning final descent now. Keep an eye on the transport.”
She didn’t need to say this, the young Princess knew her business. However, Tegaea was at the pitch of nervous anxiety and giving orders helped her feel like she was doing something productive.

Perhaps realising this, she turned. “Elpsis, do you sense…Elpsis?” She looked around the bridge. No firemane. Odd, but not a source of concern, she figured her daughter might be down in the hanger. She did call one of her aides over.
“Find Miss Elpsis and ask her to join me,” she said with a smile. Cue poor aide trying to find what was not there….

Anything further on this matter was interrupted by a messenger. “Englightenment from Lady Kerrigan.” They handed over the message. And then, with a slight cough and a blush, a second message.
Tegaea raised her eyes at the second, smiled, then read the first.
“Reply; ‘Initiating negotiations. Am prepared for hostile reaction with fleet. Planetary resources undetermined, lots of water.’ I will send a reply to the second message…later.”
The aide looked a little relieved at that!


XXX

A large ceremonial square was the setting for the meeting. Vast artifices of gigantic and crumbling appearances loomed over it. It was as though someone had heard of Coruscant as it once had been only through basic descriptions but now was attempting to capture that in buildings.
Civilians lined the square, all dressed in the same brown robes as a Jedi of lore. Soldiers formed a barrier around them, their weapons held somewhat upwards.

A giant image of the Grandmaster towered over the square, his wizened head shrouded by a halo of light. As the shuttle would touch down a small contingent of actual Jedi would approach, with Force imbued blades sheathed at their side.

Doubtless a little anxious but determined the chief negotiator of Firemane’s Diplomatic Bureau stepped down the ramp with the honour guard behind. She spotted Master Airla, the Twi’lek who had negotiated the meeting and moved towards them.

“Master Airla, I greet the Dominion of Light in the spirit of understanding and hope. My name is Firana Marux, emissary of Lady Tegaea Alcori, leader of the Firemane Expeditionary Corps.”
She bowed politely in the Jedi fashion and her aides and guards did likewise.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Laira Darkhold"]


"What do you see?" Elpsis asked Loyalty as the shuttle approached the large square.

"It looks like someone tried to transplant Coruscant into a swamp...and didn't realise half the buildings would sink," the Dahomian commented dryly. "There's...the Senate? And there's a big ziggurat over there. The Jedi Temple, right?"

"Yeah, must be it."

"Sense anything I should know about?"

"It's...odd. The vibes I get from the mass of people seems peaceful and serene, but it's all wrong. The kind of peaceful you get when you're drugged out of your mind. And there's strong currents of fear beneath it." There was some strain written across her face as she spoke.

"Are we sure these guys are Jedi and not Sith in disguise? The Jedi I've met were preachey jerks, but not like this. They sure as hell didn't build huge statues to glorify themselves."

"Evil comes in many forms. Not all wear black and have pale, veiny skin. The Jedi of old had a slave army," Elpsis said quietly.

"Chatter's over, people. We're inbound for landing. Look sharp. You know the drill," the strong, booming voice of Captain Mirut travelled through the transport, putting an end to discussion. Swiftly the two soldiers assumed their place, checking their gear one last time.


When the shuttle touched down Loyalty and Elpsis found themselves as part of the honour guard. Soldiers flanked the Firemane negotiator as she stepped down the landing ramp. Civilians were lined up in the square, held back by soldiers. Stretching out with the Force, Elpsis was repulsed by how...uniform their minds felt. "Clones," she muttered to herself quietly.


Meanwhile, Master Jedi Airla, a blue Twi'lek who actually wore proper clothes, faced Firana Marux of Firemane's Diplomatic Bureau. If anything, the Jedi was probably even more nervous than the foreigner. She knew very well why the Battlemaster had granted her the 'honour' of greeting the first offworlders to set foot on Tephrike for four centuries.


She tried to swallow her anxiety. "In the name of the righteous Dominion of Light, I welcome you to Nexus City," she said as smoothly as she could. "We are most heartened to learn that civilised people from beyond our world have survived the Great Darkness. It is our hope that this meeting will be an amicable one."


A group of Younglings, wearing the brown robes that were so common among the Jedi of yore, was also present. Like everyone else, they wore a portrait of the Grand Master on a badge pinned to their left breast. With devoted look on their faces, they sang. "There is no emotion, there is calm. There is no ignorance, there is obedience. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is order. There is no death, there is the Light."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Acknowledged Sugar Mama, Guardian Angel in the air." Laira coo'd into the comms back at Tegaea. The older woman was worried, and for good reason. Everything they knew and could see about these people didn't look friendly. They weren't the worst in the galaxy, but they were an unknown. At least with the Sith Empire asked to negotiate you knew they were trying to kill you. With this Dominion there was uncertainty.

"D.O.L. is asking us to circle along coordinates." Laira murmured, waiting to respond until after they had been mapped and plotted against what tactical data they had. "What's it look like Shun?" She asked. Her gut was in turmoil, like a pit was opening up in her stomach. In her experience flying she had never felt like this, but then again, she'd never been a wing commander. Her thumb rubbed across the list of names written on the inside of the cockpit.

"The path looks like it has three points in which the aa guns we know of would have clear lines of fire, two places where flights would be unable to respond immediately." The givin responded, exasperation clear in his voice.

"I mean does it look bad."

"I've prepared an alternate route for you to message them, claiming engine difficulties with the barometric pressure for long term flights." He replied once more, letting her look over the path. "This one allows flights to figure eight so that they cover each other with no clear gaps while still allowing their flights to shadow us and not have us cross directly over the meeting ground."

"Sent. Thank you Skele-hon." She rocked her X-Wing along the path Probabat Shun had sent and a moment later she recieved confirmation for them to be allowed to do such.

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]
[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Laira Darkhold"] [member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

“The Great Darkness was a bad time for all the galaxy, Master Airla. However, from that despair has come hope and it is Firemane’s wish that we will be able to aid your people on the path to return to prosperity.”

The two diplomats moved forward slightly, away from their guards. That way they could turn and wave to the primitive holocams which had been lined up. This was an important moment for spin and PR. Of course, the facts were merely guidelines to what would really be said.

“Master Airla, I have a list of points to discuss from Lady Alcori, but before we start that, perhaps you could tell us about this city and a bit of Tephrike itself. We have little information on the planet, and of course none since the Great Darkness. And of course, feel free to ask us anything you wish. We have some briefings prepared if you would like to examine them.”

An aide would produce a slim folder with paper sheets written in Basic. It had been observed that the Dominion was still using Basic, now with a unique dialect which they had compensated for in the notes. Said notes were very basic information such as one could get off the holonet about Firemane, the galaxy and other basic notes.

Whilst this tentative negotiation was going on Elpsis might start to pick up a couple of discordant feelings among the mostly blank swarms of clones. Feelings of fear, anger, malice. These emanated from places in the crowd, not unlike a regular crowd, but it would be strange because of the otherwise sameness of the clones.

XXX

Meanwhile, the aide returned gingerly to Tegaea’s side. “Ma’am, I can’t find Miss Elpsis anywhere. I have consulted the security team and the deck crews. Umm…” she stopped as Tegaea turned.
“Tell me,” Tegaea said softly, firmly.
“One of the engineers in the hanger think they saw her boarding a transport. A…departed transport.”
Tegaea could not conceal a flicker of annoyance, a balling of her fists.
“Make sure, Ensign. Consult all the security footage, interview others, consult every record. Go.” She turned to one of her aides. “Get me Elpsis’ comm. online.”
“Ma’am, the short-wave transmitter is out of range, but the long-wave is picking her up. That means…”
“It means she’s gone against my orders. Silly girl, playing hero. Get her on a call whatever means necessary.”

Elpsis’ commlink would begin to gently vibrate with a high priority call into her headset.

XXX

Laira meanwhile would start picking up unusual sensor readings. People had climbed up onto high buildings to look down at the square. Natural behaviour to see a big show.
However, these sensors were showing an unusual amount of metal and energy to be civilians, and they were taking care to conceal themselves wherever possible from view….

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Laira Darkhold"]


The two diplomats walked, a bit away from the guards. Holocameras made pictures. Naturally the Dominion would not release any information to the public without careful editing. All the civilians in the crowd had been handpicked and there were several agents of the Ministry of Harmony among them.


Master Airla took the profferred notes, glancing at them. Perspiration accumulated on her hands. She was very conscious of the fact that a single wrong word or gesture could easily be construed as heresy. There was a reason the Battlemaster had delegated this task for her.


"Of course. You must have many questions. According to our records, our world was first discovered in the twilight years of the Republic. Colonists were attracted by its timber and ores. But Nexus City was built centuries later during the Great Darkness. The Sith used horrible weapons to lay waste Palmyra, Tephrike's old capital," she explained.


"In this time, it fell to the Jedi to restore order. The wise Masters rallied the Army of Light and drove the enemy back. Nexus City was erected at the behest of Tyian Kree to provide a beacon of hope to the rest of the world. Here the good people live in accordance with the true teachings of the Jedi."


She paused for a moment. "I understand that Firemane is a...private entity, yes?" the way she phrased things indicated the Dominion was not used to the idea. "But it opposes the Darkness? Do the Republic and the Jedi order survive in some form?"


Meanwhile, Elpsis' commlink vibrated. "Alcori, you're ringing," Loyalty said quietly.

"Not now," Elpsis grumbled.

"Something you want to share?" the Dahomian sounded suspicious.


Elpsis suppressed a sigh. The Force pulled her attention elsewhere, towards the mass of clones. She could not escape the feelings of discord. Fear, anger and malice were much in evidence. They formed a web that bound several members of the crowd, setting them apart from the rest. Then the Force screamed a warning into her mind.


"Sniper. Get our people onto the shuttle," she growled. Then suddenly she took off, in a blur of motion. In her mind she saw the bullet leave the muzzle of the gunman's rifle before he pulled the trigger. Likewise, she could envisage its trajectory in her mind. "Get down." Ere it could impact upon its target she had knocked the Firemane diplomat to the ground, shielding her.


The sharpshooter fired anew. More gunfire came from shooters embedded inside the crowd. Bullets bounced off a shimmering barrier of the Force, erected by her mind. Then she staggered and a yelp of pain escaped her when a projectile shattered the shield and connected with her leg. Master Airla looked as shocked as her Firemane counterpart. Blood was streaming from her right hand.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Shots fired." Leo's voice sounded over comms, the Force screaming warnings and danger through Laira's skull. Force users, of course they wouldn't be bad at hiding their intentions.

"Defensive formation. Hold fire until my order." Laira called. There was a chance, a slim chance, that this was just a few extremists taking out their ideology on the Firemane organization and that the Dominion would be just as perturbed as they were about the assault on the diplomatic team. A chance, but a slim one.

"Dominion fighters are pulling on to pursuit paths." Leo called again, confirmation clicking over the communication channel as they did. "Correction, Dominion fighters pulling into pursuit paths on us and on other Dominion craft." Odd, perhaps something else? Laira's gut told her to start firing, all of her instincts were to clear the skies for the gunships to escape into orbit to the Scarlet Destiny. Her responsibilities however led her down another path. If she were to just start blasting away she could escalate the incident further and turn what had been an isolated revolution into a full blown war.

The first shots started to split through the air, striking across shields. The first Firemane fighter burst into smoke and flames, spiraling down towards the ground.

"Attention Dominion craft, all fighters entering designated airspace will be assumed hostile and destroyed. Away team, collect and get out of there, we'll clear a path. Boys, stack up and clear the air above our away team." In her stomach, the redheaded princess felt she had waited to long to give the order, that she had held on hope that the Dominion would gain quick control over the situation. Instead, one of her pilots was dead and they were on the defensive with the initiative clearly against them.

She yawed her X-Wing, slamming the engines with Cix following along behind her in the first flight. The fighters above started their runs, streaking down through the clouds to engaged Dominion Fighters entering what Laira had declared a no fly zone. The redhead's guns lined up on their first target, red laser fire rippling through the air into the ancient designs shields, quickly overloading them and tearing through the engine housings.

The redhead pulled around to the next target, the sky around her quickly turning into chaos.

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]
[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

“For the Dominion!” came a cry suddenly all around the gunship. Over the communicators there followed a similar call. “For the Light!” “Darkness shall fall!”

The crowd seemed…oddly passive. They flinched, but very few panicked or took cover. Instead they began to depart in orderly rows. Uniformed goons watched and noted any who moved hastily. Since every citizen wore a serial number prominently displayed on their jackets, those who showed undue haste or interest might receive a visit from the Ministry of Harmony later….

However, in the square there came soldiers, but more than that came Jedi. Lightsabres seemed rare, as most carried shining metal blades instead, the Force woven through them. Their effectiveness was not at doubt though when one of them cut down a Firemane trooper too slow to pull back.

“Perimeter fire, buckshot now!” Loyalty ordered. That slowed down the Jedi, certainly, as they wore little armour and therefore had to use the Force to block shots if they could.
“Elpsis, come on, get back!” Loyalty shouted.
Captain Mirut meanwhile was taking things in a more practical way. The Twi’lek Jedi had stumbled forward, seemingly stunned by the wound she’d taken and the sudden violence. Mirut was not taking any chances though. She grabbed the Jedi by one of her lekku and shoved her blaster pistol into the woman’s back. Double tap…with stun. It would help to have a prisoner.
“Get her on board. Come on!”
A sniper round wounded the soldier next to her in the chest. The armour had helped, but they were still bleeding, so Mirut upped and dragged the unconscious Jedi up the ramp along with most of the survivors.
A hurled imbued blade severed a trooper’s leg, but before she died she managed to blast her attacker with horrific violence in the chest with buckshot.
“Let’s go, Alcori!” Mirut called.

On board the Scarlet Destiny alarms were sounding. The live feeds showed what was happening.
“Get those ships back in the air!” Captain Vyron was saying.
Tegaea meanwhile took up her commlink. “Laira, clear them a path. Any non-Firemane aircraft are to be considered targets. Shoot to kill. They had their chance.”

As the battle raged Tegaea felt a great anger rising. She had tried to play nice. She had given them every chance imaginable. Now her soldiers were fighting and dying. There would be a reckoning.
Then a single phrase through the feed. “Let’s go, Alcori!”
A chill filled her heart. She’d hoped that Elpsis had been on one of the support gunships. She’d hoped that she’d not received the call, or that somehow all of this was wrong and her daughter would walk into the bridge having lent her helmet.
Her hopes had been in vain. There, on the ground, was Elpsis in the hottest fight.
“Elpsis, get out of there! Move!” she called, knowing her daughter might not get the message, knowing that her own mask of detachment was slipping. Elpsis had been true to form and been her own woman, throwing herself into danger with abandon. It was admirable, but it was also critically dangerous.

The crew were looking at her, so Tegaea straightened, her eyes narrowing.
“All ships and crew, prepare for battle. Fleet, charge guns for action. We will not let this treachery go unanswered.”

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Laira Darkhold"]


Corellia, Omega, Atrisia, Kaeshana, Mustafar, two duels with Matsu Xiangu, Dubrillon...Though young in years, Elpsis was no stranger to warfare or bloodshed. The staccato of slugthrower filled the air. Buckshot volleys from Firemane soldiers cut down death charging Dominion soldiers, but more came. Some of their slugthrower rounds met their mark. Soldiers on both sides ended up on the blood-stained ground.


"C'mon," she grunted, urging the Firemane diplomat. Her Force shield was down, and blood seeped out of her leg wound. Instinctive Crucitorn helped her through the pain. Raising her Magnetic Revolver, she held the trigger and let out a burst as the chamber spun with a whir. The hypervelocity pellets travelled faster than most Force-users could predict. A Dominion Jedi was cut down, another was crippled when his knee was riddled with bullets. Not just being a pretty face with a silver tongue, Firana Marux of Firemane's Diplomatic Bureau whipped out a blaster pistol and shot a Dominion soldier who came close.


The two tried to make their way back to the gunship. More and more Dominion minions were getting close, charging into the fray heedless of the bolter salvoes coming their way from their Firemane lines. With her wounded leg, Elpsis was slowed down. She winced when a flechette round grazed her ear. "Get moving," she yelled loudly to make herself heard over the chaos. In the same moment as precognition screamed inside her mind and the Dominion soldiers began lobbing grenades. As fanatical and misguided as these Jedi were, they lacked the old order's misplaced scruples about using 'crude, uncivilised' weapons. Thus they used the Force to guide the deadly balls.


Stumbling, Elpsis drew upon the Force to summon a protective cocoon, shielding herself and a wounded Firemane soldier. Knocked off her feet, she was disorientated by the explosion of a concussion grenade. Her ears rang and blood seeped out of them. As she arose, an adhesive grenade kept her anchored to the ground. Fire leapt from her hands, burning the sticky substance away. More fire swept across the ground towards the mass of soldiers charging towards the transport, joining the repeater fire from the Firemane shuttle. Elpsis was not holding back. She was a soldier, the Dominion followers were trying to kill her. The dark orange lines on her face glowed with a fiery light. The charring wave of flame blasted enemies, roasted and seared their flesh. Screams of anguish emerged from the burnt who yet lived.


Out of the firestorm emerged three Jedi. Unlike most of their brethren, they had donned armour. Elpsis could feel the Force emanate from their silvery, somewhat archaic looking suits. These granted them some protection against the fiery doom. Similarly enchanted masks obfuscated their features. Each of them carried an enchanted blade. A combined telekinetic blast assault that lifted Elpsis off her feet and sent her crashing into the ground. She felt the invisible power wrap around her body, trying to crush her. She struggled to breathe as the bonds tightened and her ribs howled. A blast of fire and telekinesis smashed into the Jedi, forcing them to relinquish their hold as they were sent flying.


She tasted the coppery taste of blood on her lips. Her revolver had been forced from her grasp. In its place she pulled her lightsabre from her belt. The crossguard lightsabre ignited with a snap-hiss, producing a brilliant yellow blade. The Firemane transport was close, so close. But the three Jedi somersaulted towards her, blitzing the empath. Through the Force, she could perceive the threads that bound them, coordinating their movements in a near-seemless manner. Their blades clashed in an explosion of light.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Confirmed Destiny. All fighters open up on the DoL forces, cover our people's retreat." Laira's X-Wing bucked under the explosion of small rocket from the surface, the titanium armor trailing a thin line of smoke behind her as she continued to fly. Most of the fighters she had stacked above them were already down from the cloud cover and engaging groups of Dominion Fighters. While they were significantly outnumbered, Firemane had much more advanced craft than their Jedi Extremist opposition. It still didn't feel right in her gut, but she had to follow orders. She had to protect her people in the air and on the ground more than she needed to worry about the morality of firing on pilots that may not have understood what was happening.

"Shields are failing." Probabat Shun said calmly. His kind wasn't much for expressing emotions, but the redhead had expected some form of concern from his aura given their situation.

"R-nine, get to work on that. Cix, cover me. I'm making a run on the courtyard." She pulled the Starfighter around and kicked the engines up, the thin line of smoke getting a little larger as she did so, further damaging the drive system. The nose of her fighter lined up on one of the towers as she dived towards the ground, flak bursting around Laira's craft as her weapons flared sending crimson bolts lacing through the permacrete brick and durasteel reinforcing of the building. Bolts lanced through the building, shattering its structure until it collapsed.

"Three on your tail, Temptress." Cix's voice echoed over the comms. Her sensors were filled with detonations, flak, and ships dogfighting in the air. She couldn't just glance at the instruments and see them, but she could feel through the Force some. She snapped the pedals, jerking the stick backwards and up, sending the craft into a tight flip as it cut the engines and let the rear sling around the retrothrusters. Laira pressed the launch button and dumbfired one of her proton torpedoes into a passing Z-95, causing it to explode into a million burning pieces.

"Cix, scissors." She cut the ship upwards again, slicing through the air, cutting back and forth, hitting the engines hard only to make a hard stop and let the fighters fly past her once more, lighting up the sky with red lances after them. "Shun, how are our people on the ground?"

"Managing."

"Maybe a little more details? Like what do they need?"

"One would expect they need help. Cix has a tail."

"Ugh." She grunted, going after the fighter on her wingman. That particular pilot was different from the rest, clearly an ace like her from his movements. His reactions were quicker than the others she had gunned down, it was a small wonder Leo wasn't able to bring him down with the rear gun. She struggled to get a lock, meanwhile, the fighter was hammering on Cix's shields with short bursts of laser fire, stuttering them down with accurate blasts. "Come on, come on." She muttered under her breath, chasing after the Jedi Ace, racing against the clock as her wingman's shields were slowly whittled away.

The first energy bolts cut into Cix's X-wing, burning holes through the armored hull of the starfighter. So far just superficial damage, but time was against her and her friends.

She fired a short burst from her cannons, trying to corral the fighter back into her crosshairs and keep him from firing on Cix once again. The crosshairs turned green and she snapped the button, watching the blue trail erupt from her magazine and close the distance towards the enemy fighter.

"Incoming."

Emergency klaxons erupted from all around Laira's instruments, "Flares." She reached for the release as she realized the Dominion had settled for a suicide run on her X-Wing. The Z-95 collided with her X-Wing and both ships broke into pieces, detonating into a flaming ball around her.

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]
[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

“Temptress is down, repeat Temptress is down.”
One particular report above all the others caught Tegaea’s attention. Shock, anger, both filled her. Laira was a good pilot, but numbers had told seemingly.
A bitter hatred began to seep into her. She had come here to help these people and this had all the hallmarks of a planned ambush. This meant war.

“Captain, dispatch two more squadrons of fighters to assist with escorting. Move a Nest and two Frontiers into low orbit. And get the Spatha to start assessing targets. Do the same with the Harbingers here.”
The Nest was a carrier corvette; a large bulky thing with the turning circle of a brick. However, for a harassed shuttle it would be a haven halfway to space where they would be safe, especially with the Frontiers. The frontiers were flak corvettes, exceptionally skilled at shooting down enemy fighters.
The Spatha though was a Gladius heavy cruiser, a brute of a ship bristling with heavy turbolasers. The Scarlet Destiny meanwhile housed two bombardment Harbinger cannons equivalent to the autocannons the First Order had once been so fond of.

Orders given, Tegaea took a deep breath and clenched her fists. She was waiting in dread and anticipation for news from the ground, both about Elpsis and Laira.

XXX

On the ground the transport was assailed. The armour was tough, but the volume of fire was getting intense. An improvised barricade had been put near the ramp, but shots were still flying in, striking and ricocheting around.
“Captain, we need to leave now or we won’t leave at all!” Loyalty called.
“We don’t leave people behind!” Mirut growled, firing at one of the Jedi duelling Elpsis.
“Elpsis, come on! We need to go n-,” Loyalty began, standing. In that moment by luck or design a bullet caught her under the arm and knocked the Dahomian to the deck.
The situation was critical.

XXX

As the wrecks fell from the sky, and the aerial battle raged over the city it was not just the Dominion who watched. Far away in their dark mountain the Sith saw the shapes in the sky and the battles in the air and wondered what they portended.

However, much closer and more immediate in the forests near the city the fall was witnessed by others. Ragged figures made silent signals to each other and slipped through the brush, moving to the burning wrecks….

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Laira Darkhold"]


Meanwhile, Elpsis was finding herself beleaguered. No armour, lacking her usual panopoly of gear. Upside? Firemane Medical had given her a new arm to replace the one she had lost in her second duel with [member="Matsu Xiangu"]. Downside? Three Jedi were intent on killing her. Two men, one woman. They also knew how to fight. The three fanned out and rushed Elpsis, trying to blitz her. Their Force imbued blades and armour gleamed in the bright sunlight. The empath reversed direction and tried to pivot to the left, trying to keep them from using their numbers against her. She was tough, but not invincible or invulnerable.


One Jedi thrust his Force imbued blade towards her and she parried it downward. However, ere she could riposte, the second Jedi took the offensive. Moving within a blink of an eye, exploiting her distraction. Her boot kicked Elpsis in the shin and her blade cut into her shoulder. The scent of burnt flesh wafted into Elpsis' nostrils - her own flesh. Seeking to gain some distance, she rolled quickly, and jumped to her feet, but the Jedi was quick on her feet. Each step was a blow and each came with lethal intent.


The Jedi's strikes drove her back. Elpsis furiously batted her attack aside and slashed. But the third Jedi came up and interposed his sword between her attack. Then with a flick of his wrist, a blast of electricity shot forth from his hand. The empath howled in pain, backing up to avoid another strike. Smoke billowed from her uniform and she blinked to clear her head. The three Jedi wasted no time and threw themselves at her. Moving in unison, they blocked her path to the shuttle. No sooner had she parried one blade, than another swept towards her, giving her no avenue of escape. While her lightsabre held two of three at bay, the female Jedi seized her in a paralysing grip. Her body rebelled, refusing to move. The two Jedi closed in, eager to strike. Summoning her willpower, she roared. Her scream produced a shockwave that struck her assailant from behind. She dodged behind a pile of debris as a sword slashed, striking the pile instead of her neck.


In this moment, she heard Loyalty's shouts, ere the Dahomian got a bullet in the arm. Multiple presences were closing in, the shuttle was being bombarded. In the distance, she could perceive more Dominion soldiers approaching. She looked from the Jedi towards the shuttle. The Force wrapped around the shuttle and she slammed the hatch shut and gave it a push. "Go." The three Jedi charged her once more. Fire erupted from her hand, but once again the three coordinated their efforts, drawing upon their combined strength to erect a barrier. They still suffered burns, but their shield became a battering ram they slammed into Elpsis, sending her flying at terrible speed. Ouch.


The pain was a lesson. In the moment where they erected the barrier, she had sensed the connections that bound the three of them. The threads of power were as apparent to her as real, physical threads would be for someone not deprived of conventional sight. So as they came once more, she retreated. Gathering strength to pit her mind against theirs. First there was bright light, sound, sensation. Immediately, they raised their combined shields. And then her true strike followed. She focused on the female Jedi in the centre, turning her mind into a thermic lance that struck at the linkage between minds and bodies.


The Jedi's cries of anguish were mirrored by those of his comrades as the pain was transferred through their mental link. It was a brief moment of disorientation, but enough. The Force swept from her in a powerful fiery wave. One was knocked down and hit the ground hard, another was thrust backwards. The Jedi on the left had maintained his bearings and came up. Their blades clashed furiously. Heat surged through her body, her hair was aflame. Then the Jedi's robes suddenly caught fire. Cursing, he discarded it. His hair was ignited as well and he sought to put out the fire.


But now the Jedi on the right was back in play again, launching a powerful cut towards her. The Jedi Code was on his lips. Warned by the Force, Elpsis dodged and brought up her blade to intercept, pushing his blade down. Her crossguard cut into his shoulder. Deep enough for her to strike downward and severe one of his legs at the hip. But was given no reprieve. The Jedi in the centre was back on his feet. His features were twisted, his armour scorched and much of his skin scarred by fire, but the Force surged through him. She backed away as he unleashed a storm of blows, her arms aching as she sought to keep him at bay. She dodged, she parried. Ducking beneath a heavy overhead cut, she sliced into his hip joint.


She reeled when a telekinetic punch caught her in the chest. Her ribs cried amidst the pain. Bloody-minded determincation kept her going. His furious strikes caused her to stumble over a corpse. As his blade came crashing down, she furiously blocked it. Both struggled against one another, then she removed one of her hands from her hilt and blasted him with blinding light. Hot enough to burn. It caused him to stagger. Surging forward, she thrust the tip of her blade towards his neck armour, where the armour plating was more vulnerable. The Jedi let out a horrid, ragged gasp through his seared windpipe and collapsed to the ground.


By now, the Dominion had brought up mortars and other light artillery. The earth shook as intense shelling began. The anti-air cannons roared, peppering the shuttle, as did Dominion soldiers' machine guns. Even if she used the Force, she could not reach the shuttle in time. Not without more Firemane members dying. So she forced it to rise. Vesta, guide me. Be my strength, be their shield. She would stay behind. Beads of sweat dripped down her face and back. Strain was etched across her features. Then she winced when the wounded Jedi thrust his dagger into her leg. Blood dripped out of her wound. Turning, she blasted his face with fire. The fireball cooked his brains. The smell of burnt flesh invaded her nostrils.


Blood dripped from her wound as she pulled the dagger out and tossed it away. In the sky, the ship was shaking. It threatened to fall. The anti-air cannons vomitted rounds. Gritting her teeth, she applied her grip once more, tightening it. The dark orange lines on her face glowed with a fiery light. At this point, the strain was painful for her. She struggled to stand, but refused to release her grip upon the ship, keeping it aloft. Just a few seconds more...She did not see the last Jedi coming. Not before her blade slashed across Elpsis' stomach. As her blood dripped, the Jedi used her in the face with the pommel of her weapon.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The sounds of combat far in the distance buzzed in Laira’s ears, a dull ringing just starting to fade from her senses. Wet red hair stuck to her brow. The scent of blood filled her nostrils as she blinked awake. Crash-webbing clung to her form, blinking lights from the dash buzzed faintly as her vision cleared, the redhead coming to slowly. Grey eyes darted around, taking in her surroundings, jungle as far as the eye could see.

Slowly her hands reached up, patting herself to ensure she was all there and not missing pieces of herself as she recovered from the sudden shock of colliding with one of the Dominion fighter craft. She had a cut above her left eye, a splitting headache, and her left arm hurt around the elbow as though it had been damaged during the crash. Looking around, her X-Wing was largely totalled, appearing as though pieces of it were strewn across the jungle floor. The only part that wasn’t completely shredded was the cockpit, though her co-pilot was nowhere to be seen. R-9 was a burning wreckage and she was all alone. Laira worried about Elpsis who had been on the ground as far as she was aware, with the diplomats. Hopefully they had been able to make it out. Leo and Cix and all the other Firemane pilots were struggling, even with reinforcements trailing down from space the initial force had taken considerable casualties. Leo and Cix had been trying to dodge a Dominion Jedi Pilot, hopefully her rocket had saved them before she went down.

As her senses cleared and her mind fought through the fog, the redhead began acting. Unsnapping herself from her crash-webbing and gathering a few things. The survival kit stored under her seat, a silenced slugthrower pistol and one hundred rounds, her lightsaber and multi-weapon. From the wreckage she turned at the sound of every twig breaking, looking for anything that might be out in the jungles looking for injured pilots. Depending on how much time had passed, it was unlikely Firemane had been able to send out search and rescue, especially with the Dominion forces still combating them in the air. Until they started securing the air and ground, she would be here alone on the ground.

Her commlink was ruined, fried and irreparable as far as she was capable of. All she had technology wise was a short range location device and an ion flare. Everything else was either ruined in the crash or simply missing. Probabat Shun was likewise gone, but his seat was intact and all the supplies still stuffed under it. Two packs would be heavy, but it might double the time she could spend out in the jungle. She checked the locator, a simplistic device with a one kilometer range which told her only if their were IFF’s in the area, blue for friend, red for hostile, yellow for unknown which told her the general direction they were in. “Alright, friendlies north-north-east, unknown north-north-west.” Best get moving now.

The redheaded princess began picking her way through the jungles, moving as quickly as her legs would allow and keep sure-footing through the roots and undergrowth. Laira crouched down within the ferns, reaching out with the Force, her senses still fuzzy from the crash. Without a proper medic there wasn’t much she could do if she had a concussion, but it didn’t feel that way. Perhaps she was just dazed and the Force was cloudy given the fighting in the city. She could hear talking not far off, just casual voices trading words back and forth. Laira couldn’t make out what was being said, but she could tell the people weren’t trying to hide while the walked through the jungle. Based on the locator device, they were reading unknown, most likely Dominion Forces whose IFF signature she hadn’t entered into her device. The redhead nodded and continued moving along the jungle floor, remaining low to the ground while using the undergrowth to conceal herself.

As she approached them, Laira could tell the voices were coming from three troopers wearing dominion armor. Two of them carried what appeared to be standard slugthrowers with the third carrying a larger weapon which could be a heavy blaster rifle. Not the best situation for her, slugthrowers had a higher rate of fire than most blasters and she couldn’t just reflect them back at the group. Plus there was the possibility they had backup in the jungle not too far off, so if they got communications out, she could find herself quickly overwhelmed. Her own survival instincts pressed her to sit back and hide, let them move on past her. Alone that would have made the most sense, but with the possibility of her friends trapped in the woods with a kill team moving towards them she couldn’t just do nothing. <It seemed like the Dominion wasn’t sure whether to fight or not at first, it's possible these three aren’t here to fight. My empathic abilities aren’t good enough to sense that without getting closer and giving them something to focus on.> Laira took a breath and stepped out from her cover, doing her best to act like she was in shock and unaware they could be hostiles. “Help!” she called weakly, ensuring she had their attention.

The three approached her carefully, leveling weapons on her, but so far she couldn’t feel malice. Just basic combat instincts. “Hands up.” The one with the blaster demanded, but she didn’t comply, she simply stumbled forward and fell, faking serious injury. The first arrived at her, “She’s armed. Weapon’s sheathed though.”

“Damn monsters, you think they make them look like that to throw us off guard?”

“Probably. Probably think using a young girl as a host for their devilry will make troopers hesitate.”

“Guessed wrong.”

She looked at them, trying to keep a snarl from her features while they talked about her like she was some kind of demon or creature and hardly a person. “I’m not a monster, I’m just a girl like any other.”
“Hey, how do they make your kind?”

“Shuddap, she’s wounded, probably has a concussion, maybe brain damage. Unless you want to have to drag her back to Nexus we’ll have to put her down.”

“Roger. We’ll see if the other ships have a less damaged one.” It didn’t take a Force-Sensitive to understand they meant her harm, but she hadn’t sensed serious malice from them. To these Dominion forces it was duty, though these seemed to enjoy the concept of doing their duty.

The closest one to her brought his weapon back up, leveling it towards her head to execute the redhead. As he did she surged, the other two were flat-footed and waiting to move on. Laira grabbed the barrel of the weapon with one hand to push it away from her body and came up towards the man, bringing her right hand upwards. As it passed her mutli-weapon in a blur she grabbed it from the sheath on her thigh, driving the pointed end up under the trooper’s chin. A few rounds cracked off from the weapon, the heat from firing it burned the palm of her hand, but she spun, slamming her back into the corpse of the first man so she could gain control of his weapon and cause the body to fall backwards giving her a second extra of cover from the other two. As she completed her spin, she dropped back to one knee and pulled the trigger on the slugthrower carbine, spraying a dozen bullets from the weapon into the second man.

The third man had been the slowest, his weapon wasn’t all the way up and so he dropped it when she turned the slugthrower on to him. With a grimace he spat out at her, “Do your worst demon.”

“Don’t play moral high ground with me. You were going to kill me even though you thought I was helpless. Oh, and for the record, I’m just a girl. Just a regular girl.” Just a regular Jedi Girl, but still. She stepped forward and used the butt of the rifle to knock the man unconscious with a strong blow to the temple. With him out cold, she quickly grabbed up a little bit of ammunition, retrieved her weapon and continued into the jungle towards her friends.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]
[member="Tegaea Alcori"]